The documentary opens with a sequence reminiscent of James Bond. Hoisted from a helicopter, France Télévisions journalist Julian Bugier lands on the deck of the frigate Chevalier-Paul, which is cruising in a secret location. The cameras are immediately plunged into the heart of a military exercise that the rest of the film will continue to question the cost of.
The armies represent the second largest defense expenditure of the state: 57 billion euros in 2026, just behind education. How is this “colossal budget” spent? Is it still “without waste”? Who benefits from this money? The documentary aims to answer these questions by taking us behind the scenes of the military industry, spanning from a pig farmer supplying a military base to advanced military technology manufacturers, including subcontractors and influencers.
160,000 shells per year
Like all accounting, the documentary – punctuated with explosion shots and artillery batteries – offers a division between costs and revenues. On one hand, the cost of armament is listed: 3,000 euros for a fighter pilot helmet, 20,000 euros per hour of flight for a training flight, between 70 and 100 million euros for the purchase of a Rafale jet.
On the other hand, attention is drawn to the economic benefits of the military industry. In Bourges (Cher), the producers of the Caesar cannon tout “a flourishing business” boosted by the war in Ukraine. France is the second largest arms exporter globally. In Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées), where 160,000 shells are produced per year, a worker reflects: “It’s as if I had blood on my hands. But there is an economic reality.” A reality that leads to another, unfortunately only briefly touched upon by this documentary: how much is the nation willing to pay to rearm?
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